


"Anything, just call me, okay?"

by Niknaksstuff



Series: Five Word Prompts [4]
Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-06
Updated: 2018-07-06
Packaged: 2019-06-06 09:10:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15191513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Niknaksstuff/pseuds/Niknaksstuff
Summary: Another of the Five Word Prompts posted on Tumblr





	"Anything, just call me, okay?"

The unwelcome prospect of bumping into Pete Shanahan had been at the forefront of his mind when he’d tried to order her to accept a lift. Nevertheless, he really didn’t want to let her drive herself home but stubbornly she insisted and when Sam Carter made her mind up about something, there was very little anyone could do to change it. 

“Anything... just call me, okay?” he shouted after her as the lift doors shut and the flashing numbers indicated its ascent to the surface.

He meant it, he’d do anything for Carter, perhaps more than she even realised but he also resigned himself to the fact that she probably wouldn’t call. She had her cop to take care of her now. 

As he trudged along the corridor back to his office he kept his head down staring at his boots. It wasn’t the most intelligent way to get from A to B, something he found out the painful way when he rounded a corner and bumped straight into Kerry Johnson. 

The files she’d been carrying were scattered violently across the floor and Jack himself had to take a backward step just to maintain his balance. 

“Uh... I’m sorry, let me help you with those.” He immediately bent down, his knees protesting and scooped the files together. He stood rather gingerly and handed them over to the pretty red head.

“You okay?” She tilted her head when he failed to make eye contact with her. 

“Yeah...” he nodded and then finally looked her in the eye. “Actually no.”

Jack shoved his hands into the pockets of his BDU’s. He’d spent enough time around her to feel comfortable about opening up about how he felt and even though they were no longer an item, he knew that he could trust her discretion.

“I’m sorry about General Carter. I know it must be hard.” She knew exactly why Jack was in a morose mood having only just found out herself that the General had passed away.   
“Yep... he was a good man. I’ll miss him,” Jack fidgeted on the spot. 

“How’s Colonel Carter?” She should be bitter but Kerry Johnson was a reasonable woman and she realised that she would always be second best when it came to Jack’s feelings for a certain Airforce Colonel.

“She’s strong, she’ll be okay.”

“And yet, you don’t really believe that... do you?” Kerry stared at Jack, not wanting to let him off the hook. If there was one thing she’d learned about Jack O’Neill, it was that even though he might disagree, it did him good to open up. 

Jack looked embarrassed at how easily he could be read. “Nope. I offered her a lift home but she’s so stubborn, she...”

“Something else you have in common,” she smirked. 

He looked at her and rolled his eyes. He really didn’t have the energy to get into another emotional conversation about why he and Sam weren’t together. Besides, no matter how much he might want it, now wasn’t the time, for more reasons than he cared to count.

“Why don’t you call her, check she gets home okay?” Kerry suggested.

“I told her to call me if there was anything she wanted.”

“But you don’t think she will?”

“Doubt it. She has Shanahan to look after her,” Jack sighed. 

“You don’t like him much, do you?” 

“That would be an understatement. The guys a slime ball. She deserves better,” Jack snapped and then immediately regretted his tone. 

“And as in better, you mean... you?”

“I would never presume and actually, can we please not have this conversation... here... or anywhere for that matter.”

“For what it’s worth, I think you’re right. She probably does deserve better and I think that is you... I should know... remember?” It was a rhetorical question really, she didn’t expect an answer.

“I’m sorry, I never meant to string you along, you were never just a...” his words were silenced as the young woman placed two fingers on his lips. 

“Don’t, please. Let’s just leave it as it is.” And they both nodded and smiled, knowing that it couldn’t have gone down any other way. 

“So... what are you going to do about it?” Kerry asked. 

“About what?” Jack looked deliberately confused.

“Oh, Jack...” she scowled. “About Sam.”

“I’m gonna let her grieve. It’s what she needs to do.”

“With the slime ball?” Kerry asked sceptically.

“Guess so. Not much else I can do.” He sighed with a shrug of his shoulders. 

“Unless she calls?” 

Jack nodded in agreement, “Unless she calls.”

xxxxxx

Sam dragged herself to her car. It had been the toughest day she’d ever had to live through. In fact, if it weren’t for Jack O’Neill she knew that she’d never have been able to find the strength to deal with it. 

She also knew that when he’d told her that he’d always be there for her, he’d meant it and when he’d offered to drive her home, she so desperately wanted to say yes but she knew that Pete would be waiting for her.

When she arrived at her house though, she found that Pete’s car wasn’t in the drive as she had expected. As she threw her keys down on the table by the door she found a note written on an old envelope. 

“Been called into work. I’m so sorry, I wanted to be here for you. I’ll be late so I’ll just go back to my apartment, don’t want to wake you. See you tomorrow. Love you, Pete xx”  
She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Her emotions were in turmoil. She screwed up the envelope and threw it in the trash. Sam knew Pete had an important job but she couldn’t help feeling that maybe he hadn’t tried all that hard to be there for her. 

Jack would’ve. He would’ve moved heaven and earth to comfort her. She knew that. She’d known it even before he’d told her as much. 

She flopped down on the sofa and took out her cell phone. She scrolled through her contacts until she came to his name. 

He’d told her to call him if there was anything she needed and she needed him. She didn’t want to be on her own with her thoughts. She needed someone to tell her that she’d be okay. That as bad as she felt now, she’d come through the other side. 

She dialled his number but then quickly hung up. She’d hardly stepped through the door before she’d called him, she felt foolish and vulnerable.

It barely took a minute for the incoming call to flash up with his name. As soon as she saw it her breath caught in her throat. 

She picked up.

“Carter... Sam, are you okay?” He sounded worried and once again she felt stupid, this time for causing him such anxiety.

“I’m okay, Sir,” she lied.

“But you called me. Why did you hang up?”

“I thought you’d be busy.”

“Nothing I can’t re-arrange.” And there it was. The difference between Jack and Pete was so painfully obvious. This man, who made decisions about the fate of the human race on a daily basis would re-arrange anything to be with her. 

“I don’t want to be on my own right now,” she admitted, fighting to stop the tears from pouring down her cheeks.

“I thought Pete would be with you?” 

Sam’s silence told him everything he needed to know. “Give me 30 minutes, I’ll be right there.”

Xxxxx

It was actually 45 minutes but she’d forgive him. She knew what it was like when he tried to get away, there was always someone else who needed his authority for one thing or another. 

When he arrived she opened the door to him and the floodgates opened. She’d kept it together on base, ever the professional but now, in her own home, surrounded by memories, she no longer had the strength to fight it. 

Jack immediately dropped the bags of food he was carrying and stepped towards her. 

“C’mere,” he whispered and pulled her gently into his embrace.

She slipped her arms around him and buried her face against his neck. He soothed her by softly caressing her back with one hand and her hair with the other before he pulled her as closely to him as he could. 

It would never bring her dad back but what Jack O’Neill could offer was better than any pain killer. His very presence dulled the pain and she knew that with his help, she’d make it through.  
Xxxxx

**Author's Note:**

> So, this was meant to just be a quick story that I actually wrote on my phone but I'm wondering if I should carry it on? What'dya think???


End file.
